Chicken Scarpariello

This recipe comes to us via Sam's blog, My Carolina Kitchen.  Her brother-in-law, Stuart, who I had the pleasure of meeting at our blogging get together in June, made this dish for Same and her husband some time back.  You can bet I was sure to tell Sam and Stuart I had tried this dish and how completely thrilled I was with the results as was the rest of my family.

Although I haven't visited Italy yet,  the deep flavors of this wonderful meal sure made me feel like I was enjoying a meal in a rustic Italian village.

There was no reason for me to even try to change a thing about this recipe, so I am sharing it true to the Sam shared with her readers.

12 chicken thighs bone in, skin on (2 per person)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
1/2 lb. sweet (may be called mild) Italian sausage, preferably without fennel seeds), cut into 1-inch pieces
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 pickled cherry peppers, cut in half and stemmed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock or reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Generously season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.  Once the oil is heated, add as many pieces of chicken (skin side down) to the skillet as you can comfortably fit without them touching, be careful not to crowd the skillet.  You will more than likely have to do this in batches and possibly add a little more oil as needed in order not to burn the brown bits that you will need later!

Brown the chicken on all sides, about 8 to10 minutes.  As room becomes available in the skillet, add the sausage pieces to the to brown.  Place the browned chicken and sausage on a platter lined with paper towels to drain briefly, then move them to a roasting pan large enough to accommodate them in a single layer.

Add the garlic to the skillet and cook until golden brown, being very careful not to burn.  Scatter the cherry peppers in the skillet and season with salt and pepper.  Stir for about 1 minute the add the vinegar and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits.  Continue cooking until the vinegar is reduced by half.  Add in the white wine, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Now pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Pour the sauce over the chicken in the roasting pan, stir to coat the chicken.  Place the chicken in the oven to roast, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and sticky, like molasses, about 10 minutes.  If the sauce is still too thin, place the roasting pan on the stove top over medium-high heat stirring until the sauce is reduced which should take about a minute or two.  

Once the sauce is thickened, toss in the parsley and serve.

Okay, so I added a little shaved Asiago cheese, because that's just how I roll.

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